


True As It Can Be

by scavengerscorner (idrilhadhafang)



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Beauty and the Beast Fusion, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Armitage Hux as Gaston, Dragon Kylo Ren, Eventual Poe Dameron/Kylo Ren/Rey, Eventual Romance, Finn Needs A Hug, It Makes Sense in Context, Kylo Ren as the Beast, Multi, Poe And Rey as Belle, Protective Poe Dameron, Rey Needs A Hug, Sexism from minor characters, eventual polyamory, misogyny from minor characters, one-sided Armitage Hux/Rey - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-23
Updated: 2019-03-03
Packaged: 2019-11-04 04:31:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,508
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17891528
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/idrilhadhafang/pseuds/scavengerscorner
Summary: Rey and Poe have lived in the village of Jakku all their lives, inventing things and wishing for something more. When Kes Dameron goes missing, they’re forced to confront the mystery firsthand — and get more than they bargained for.





	1. Jakku

**Author's Note:**

  * For [QueenOfCarrotFlowers](https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenOfCarrotFlowers/gifts), [TazWren](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TazWren/gifts), [](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts).



> Disclaimer: I own nothing.
> 
> Author’s Notes: Special thanks to the wonderful SaturnineFeline for her suggestions and watchful eye, especially for word flow! Anyway, I was sitting on this for a while, so...hope you enjoy!

Jakku. As far as Rey knew, she had been there since she was five years old, and it had been her prison and her home all in one. Her home, mostly because of her friend, Poe Dameron. Her prison, because of just about everything else. Even heading off to Unkar Plutt’s place, she couldn’t help but take in the whispers of just about everyone else.  
  
_That’s Rey Shan._ __  
  
Bit of an odd girl.

 __  
_Won’t even accept Hux’s hand...maybe she’s just an arrogant little chit..._ __  
__  
_Must be. If I had it my way, I’d teach her a lesson in manners..._  
  
Rey gritted her teeth. She had heard it all before. They were fools, the people saying these things. It still hurt.  
  
It wasn’t just the trip to Plutt’s that was difficult; Plutt drove a hard bargain, and negotiating with him was always a challenge. Rey left with the parts she needed, but even so...  
  
Heading back from Plutt’s shop, she ran into Armitage Hux. She couldn’t help but feel like her day had soured; Hux was one of the most pompous, boisterous men in the Jakku village. He didn’t seem to have any respect for anyone, actually — the fact that he Finn usually followed him around made no sense. Finn was at least someone she could tolerate talking to. Hux, meanwhile — well, she’d prefer Plutt’s company to Hux’s, and that was saying something.  
  
“Having some problems with the vendor?” Hux asked.

Finn was hanging back like he preferred to be anywhere but there — basically the same position he took up whenever Hux tried to woo Rey.  
  
“None of your business, that’s what,” Rey said curtly.  
  
It was Finn who spoke next. “Afternoon, Rey.” Unlike Hux, he was soft-spoken and almost gentlemanly. It was a pity that others in the village mostly saw him in Hux’s shadow.  
  
Hux shot him a glare, before turning back to Rey. “Need some assistance with your things? They look terribly heavy...”  
  
”I think I can handle myself,” Rey said.  
  
Hux stepped forward, and Rey’s body tensed as she prepared to defend herself.

“A little proud, are you?”  
  
”My things,” Rey said, slowly, “are not that heavy.”  
  
”All these parts? Surely they must be. Of course, I don’t know why you’d dirty your pretty hands with such hobbies. Get them so rough...”  
  
”I do it because I enjoy it.” Rey could already feel her irritation rising to anger.  
  
Finn spoke up, clearly trying to play mediator. “Armitage,” he began, “I think that — ”  
  
“Oh, don’t listen to Finn,” Hux said, almost casually. “He doesn’t have the same experience that I do. I’d say he’s a little shy, aren’t you, Finn?”  
  
Rey could practically feel the shame and embarrassment radiating off Finn like a noticeable smell as the latter looked away. She spoke.

“Don’t treat your friend like that.”  
  
”It’s the truth,” Hux said. “Of course, I can’t say that I blame him. But really, Rey — am I that repulsive?”  
  
Rey glared at him. Hux sighed.

“You’re a stubborn, feisty little thing. But you’ll come around. I can feel it. They always do.” He turned to Finn. “Come, Finn.”  
  
Hux left. Finn looked over at Rey almost apologetically before leaving. Rey didn’t say anything, merely nodding. Hux she had no sympathy for, but she had some sympathy for Finn. Finn was probably an angel to put up with someone like Hux, who was something like — but that was ridiculous, wasn’t it?

  
Rey headed over towards the Damerons’ cottage. It was a quiet place, next to a special tree that had been rumored to have magical abilities. Rey could only wish that the tree actually were magical. Maybe things would get better for her, Poe, Kes Dameron, and others who were suffering in the Jakku village. And for all the generally downtrodden people, including people like Finn. Maybe...  
  
She knocked on the door, and Poe answered.

“Rey!” he said, an overwhelmingly bright smile on his face. “Good to see you.”  
  
Rey smiled despite herself, brighter this time.

“Good to see you too, Poe.” There was something about Poe where it was like her weariness of the day just faded away for the moment. It was truly amazing.  
  
Even as she stepped inside, she couldn’t help but take in the inside of the cottage. How simple it was. Others sneered at its simplicity, but Kes didn’t seem to care, really. And Rey didn’t either. She was always welcome at Kes Dameron’s cottage. Always. Poe turned to look at her.

“How did things with Plutt go?”  
  
Rey sighed.

“I ran into Hux and Finn.” She ran a hand through the part of her hair that wasn’t restrained by three buns, something that from childhood, she couldn’t bear to lose.

“I wish Finn would stand up to Hux. And I wish that Hux would leave me alone...”  
  
”You and me both,” Poe said. “I wish that tree would do something amazing, like...turn Hux into a toad or something.”  
  
Rey couldn’t help but laugh. “It’d fit him, wouldn’t it?”  
  
Poe grinned fondly at her. “Yeah. Would be interesting at least.”  
  
”Who’s turning who into a toad?” Kes Dameron emerged from his studio, a bit disheveled from painting. He was a handsome man in his middle age, with a thick goatee, and perhaps one of the kindest, gentlest men that Rey had ever met. Poe took after him, obviously, and, she’d been told, after his late wife, Shara Bey.  
  
“We’re having Hux trouble,” Rey said.  
  
“Ah. Hux. He does ruin everything, doesn’t he?”  
  
Rey couldn’t help but laugh again. “That’s an understatement.” Then, “I guess I wish things would get better. Somehow.”  
  
”They will. It’s not always immediate, but they get there. I know it doesn’t look it, with Plutt and Hux, but...it will. You’ll see.” A beat. “Shara used to say that the world was fundamentally a good place. I’d be inclined to agree with her.”  
  
”She sounds fearless,” Rey said.  
  
“She was,” Poe said. “In every way.” A beat. “You brought home some new parts.”  
  
“I thought I’d get some,” Rey said. “Dirty my pretty hands with them...”  
  
”Did Hux say that to you?” Kes said.  
  
“None other.”  
  
Kes sighed. “The nerve of that man.”  
  
”Don’t listen to him, Rey,” Poe said. “You’re a great inventor. Really. And your hands are pretty. Whether or not they’re dirty. Well, not that it matters...”  
  
Rey smiled. Awkward as Poe’s statement was, it filled her with a sort of warmth.  
  
“Why don’t we get to work?” Poe said. “I’ve definitely got something I’ve been putting off too...”


	2. Leavetaking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A trip to the marketplace goes wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I own nothing. 
> 
> Author's Notes: Moodboard by the wonderful, awesome, amazing SaturnineFeline. Because seriously? It's beautiful. 
> 
> And special thanks to leoba for stepping in on beta-ing!

The day Kes Dameron disappeared started out as just about any other day. As he took his orange and white horse William (or Billy) out on his journey to the marketplace, he turned to Poe and Rey. “I’ll be back in two days,” he said. “Take care of the house while I’m gone, keep inventing, and don’t let Hux get you down. What would you like?”   
  
“A rose,” Poe and Rey both said. They wanted it, if only to remind them of both their parents; Poe to be reminded of his deceased mother, and Rey to know more about her parents. Her parents had not been perfect, being drunks with demons of their own, but they had had moments of being gentle and loving. And Rey still loved them, including what they could have been.    
  
Kes smiled. “I’ll bring you each a rose, then. Good luck.”   
  
”Good luck,” Poe said.    
  
“Be safe,” Rey said.    
  
“Aren’t I always?” Kes said.    
  
Kes rode off on Billy, and Rey couldn’t help but feel like she was never going to see him again. Her heart felt like a sinking stone. Poe put a hand on her shoulder, and his gentle touch actually felt not only comforting, but gave her the sorts of gentle butterflies that Hux could never, ever achieve. She turned to look at him, and smiled.    
  
“Thank you,” she said.    
  
“Anything. Papa will be fine, Rey,” Poe said. “He can handle anything. He’s come back from the market before, hasn’t he?”   
  
Rey nodded. She still couldn’t quite shake the feeling that she would never see him again.    
  
***   
  
Two days passed, and Kes Dameron didn’t return. Poe tried to reassure her that Papa probably got held up somewhere, but Rey could tell that he was worried too. They’d have to find a way to look for him if he was in danger, naturally. In the meantime, Poe and Rey worked on their inventions. Poe was already working on some sort of flying machine — if only to get his late mother’s ideas off the ground — and Rey was working on multiple different projects. She swore that sometimes she actually saw the outline of different ideas in her mind. Different ideas, different theories.    
  
She and Poe were already getting parts for their projects. Across from them, Hux was all but preening in front of a mirror. Rey wrinkled her nose in distaste. It wasn’t the only reason she wouldn’t marry Hux...but it was pretty irritating.    
  
Bargaining with Plutt...even as they walked away, Poe sighed. “That guy strikes a pretty hard bargain, doesn’t he?”   
  
Rey could only nod.    
  
“Well, we got what we came for. We shouldn’t worry.” Around them, Rey could hear the whispers about Poe too, about how odd he was, how he wasn’t quite right, about what could Rey see in a young man such as him; he wasn’t even rich...   
  
She gritted her teeth again, feeling the anger all but build up behind her eyes. Remarks about her were nothing new. But Poe...   
  
It was Hux who effectively cornered her and Poe. He had flowers, he said, for her dinner table. They were beautiful, but Rey doubted she could accept them. And she said as much.    
  
“Oh,” Hux said. “You have someone? Dameron, perhaps?” He sounded scornful as he said “Dameron”.    
  
“None of your business,” Rey said.    
  
“What do you see in him?” Hux said. “He comes from nothing. He is nothing. He’s nothing but a dirt-poor fool who would fail to provide for you, give you nothing.”   
  
”Not to me,” Rey said. “And I’d take him over you any day.” She turned to look at Poe. “Come on.”   
  
”Yes, being insulted by General Hugs isn’t what I was hoping for,” Poe said, and Rey fought the urge to laugh again. “Let’s go.”   
  
They left, and Rey sighed, turned to look at Poe. “Are you okay?”   
  
”I don’t care what Hux thinks. I care what you think.” Poe said. He sighed. “Are you okay?”   
  
”I couldn’t handle him making remarks about you.”   
  
”He makes them all the time — ”   
  
”It doesn’t mean they’re right.” Rey said. “Or fair.”   
  
It was as they approached the farm that Billy galloped up to them. Rey felt dread practically freeze her blood — there was Billy, but no Kes. Poe reached out to pat Billy soothingly. “Is Papa all right?”   
  
Billy snorted, agitated. Whatever path he had gone on, it had frightened him.    
  
“Billy, I know you’re scared,” Poe said, keeping his voice low and soft, “We’ll protect you. Whatever happened on the way to the market won’t happen again.”   
  
Billy snorted, softly. Rey reached over to pet him. “I promise, Billy. We promise.” Billy seemed to relax under Poe and Rey’s ministrations.    
  
Rey went into the stables, retrieving their other horse, Obsidian. Even mounting her, Rey said, “You’re not going alone, Poe.”   
  
”I thought that.” Poe said, smiling. Then, “Lead the way, Billy.”   
  
They headed along the paths — and directly into the place that Rey knew they could not go. Rey wasn’t usually scared of things. Anything, actually. And yet going through the chill of the forest, she couldn’t help but wonder what was up ahead. Wolves, perhaps? Creatures with yellow or red eyes ready to tear her and Poe apart? Obsidian snorted nervously and Rey patted her neck, but even next to Poe, Rey couldn’t help but be unsettled.    
  
If Kes had gotten lost there...   
  
Finally, they reached the castle, silhouetted against the sky. Rey couldn’t help but wonder how they had overlooked something so significant, so obvious. So...unwelcoming.   
  
”All right,” Poe said, “Looks like we might have to explore that creepy castle.”   
  
Rey nodded.    
  
They headed up towards the castle, towards the black spires jutting up into the sky. There was something about it that was enough to give Rey the sorts of chills that she typically got when she heard about the forest up north.    
  
But she couldn’t possibly be scared by fairytales. Could she?    
  
They led Billy and Obsidian up to the castle, where they could graze and find some fresh water. Rey patted Obsidian’s neck and Poe patted Billy’s before they headed into the castle. Inside was so dreary and dark — the black-polished stone, the strange portraits on the walls. One was a series of portraits of a royal family. Another was a lush countryside that seemed so at odds with how austere the castle seemed.    
  
Rey shivered, pulling her cloak around herself, but continued forward. She and Poe took candelabras from one of the tables — and it was then that she heard the voices.    
  
“Canady, look!” A sweet-sounding, cheerful female voice. “People — more real people!”   
  
”I know that, Rose,” another voice, gruff and male, said. “I lost my hands. Not my eyes.”   
  
”They could save us! They could help us break the spell!”   
  
“Who said that?” Rey said. “Show yourselves!”   
  
Nothing. Rey sighed. Apparently this bizarre castle was making her hallucinate. She had to be hallucinating. It was the only real explanation for...any of this, actually.    
  
“The sooner we’re out of here, the better,” Poe said.    
  
Rey couldn’t say she blamed him.    
  
She continued up the stairs, candelabra in hand, and it was near the top that she heard a cough. She nearly dropped her candelabra, so did Poe. And Rey didn’t walk, but ran towards the source of the cough.    
  
It was at the top that she saw the cell — and in there was Kes Dameron. Poe was the first to run to him. “Papa! You’re alive.”   
  
”He’s here,” Kes said. “Go.”   
  
”Who’s here?” Rey said. “The monster?”   
  
”Yes.” Kes coughed again. “Get out of here before — ”   
  
Lumbering, heavy footsteps cut him off. Rey scrambled around for any sort of weapon that she could use — maybe she could use the candelabra as a weapon. Possibly. It was there that she heard a voice, an angry sort of rumble. “More intruders.”   
  
Poe was the first one who spoke. “We’ve come for my father,” he said. “Kes Dameron.” A beat. “Do you usually lock up sick men in your tower?”   
  
”Your father’s a thief,” the voice snarled.    
  
“My father is a good man,” Poe said.    
  
“He was stealing from the garden,” the voice rumbled, still angry, almost petulant-sounding. “Thieves must be punished.”   
  
Rey’s heart sank. “We were the ones who wanted the roses,” she said. “Take us. Not him.”   
  
A snort. “Not surprising. You’re thieves, like him.” Then, softer, “You would...take his place?”   
  
Poe spoke. “Why not? It’s a fair trade.”   
  
”Rey, Poe, don’t!” Kes sounded frantic, horrified even.    
  
Rey turned towards Kes. “We’re not leaving you here to die.” She turned back towards the source of the voice. “If we took his place...would you let him go?”   
  
Silence. Then, “I am a beast of my word.” The voice was deep, surprisingly pretty-sounding when he — and Rey knew it was a he — wasn’t angry.    
  
Poe was the next one to speak. “Why don’t you come into the light and face us, if you are?”   
  
Silence. Then, slowly, the monster moved into the light. And Rey’s blood went cold with dread. It was a black dragon, enormous, not enough to fill the room but definitely enough to tower over Poe, Rey and Kes. And its eyes — what was terrifying about those eyes was that they were all too human, like a person was trapped in there. But it couldn’t be, could it?    
  
She heard Poe’s breath hitch, and she couldn’t help but feel the shock herself. But she steeled herself. “You have my word. And Poe’s.”   
  
”Done.” said the dragon.    
  
He lumbered over and, with almost unusual strength, wrenched the prison door wide open. Kes was there, all but shivering in the dark. Then, “I’m not letting you and Poe live with that thing — ”   
  
”It’ll be okay,” Rey said. “We’ll see each other again. I believe that.”   
  
”We’ll find you again,” Poe said. “I promise.”   
  
They hugged, and it was there that Rey realized just how cold Kes Dameron felt. They broke away, looked back at the dragon. Rey spoke. “We’re ready.”   
  
”Good,” the dragon said. “I’ll be back shortly.”   
  
He scooped up Kes Dameron in his talons before launching himself through the nearest open window and flying off into the night. Rey could feel tears brimming in her eyes, and though Poe squeezed her hand, Rey looked over and saw he was on the verge of crying too.    
  
The dragon returned. Poe was the first to speak. “Is he safe?”   
  
”He is on the borders of the forest. He must never again return to this place.” A beat. “And now, I believe, I’ll show the both of you to your rooms.”   
  
”Our rooms?” Rey said acidically. “Good to know that we’re not prisoners.”   
  
The dragon bristled, clearly irritated. “You prefer a cell? Then follow me. Both of you.”   
  
They did.    
  
They passed strange, snarling gargoyles and more paintings that seemed to tell a story of what had happened over the years, the light of the candles casting an eerie glow. The lumbering footsteps of the dragon — did he have a name outside of the title of monster? Or was he simply a monster?   
  
Rey didn’t know. Maybe she didn’t want to know; maybe he was simply a monster.    
  
The dragon spoke in that moment. “The castle is yours now, and you may go wherever you’d like...except the West Wing. It’s forbidden.”   
  
Poe spoke up. “Well, it’s nice to know that you treat your prisoners like that,” he said wryly.    
  
“Prisoners? You’re my guests.”   
  
Rey wondered, absently, if he treated all his guests like that.    
  
The dragon dropped off Poe at his room first, after saying that he would join them for dinner. (Saying that Poe was resistant to that was one way to put it) Rey turned to look at him. “You think that I, of all people, would join you for dinner? Or Poe?”   
  
The dragon looked at her almost slyly. “We’ll see.”   
  
He dropped her off at her room. Rey had to admit that the room was beautiful, but a gilded cage was still a cage. She wasn’t about to break down yet though. She would find a way to save herself and Poe. And that...that was a promise.    
  
***   
  
The dragon Kylo Ren had never seen two people more beautiful, and it only made him despair even more. If they were the ones who would break the spell laid on the castle...but that was ridiculous, wasn’t it? They were no doubt devoted to one another; they wouldn’t care for a monster like him. Neither one of them would. They hated him.    
  
Kylo, all things considered, couldn’t say that he blamed them, really. Even when he had imprisoned Kes Dameron, he couldn’t help but feel a certain pang, like something better of him was trying to work its way out. He couldn’t afford it, of course. He’d tried to be good once, back when he was human. It had failed miserably.    
  
“You gave them bedrooms.” Rose’s voice. “Good start, I think.”   
  
The candelabra hopped over towards Kylo, and the dragon sighed as he turned around. “It wasn’t for any sentimental reason,” he said.    
  
A sigh from Rose. “I said it was a good start. Though I would say...you can’t demand others join you for dinner. You ask. That’s how we’re going to win.”   
  
”We won’t win, Rose,” Kylo said. “It’s been...how long now?” The years seemed to have blurred together. And all this, all of it, was his fault. If he hadn’t listened to Snoke...   
  
Rose huffed. “Don’t say that. There’s still time.”   
  
”I’m not talking about time, Rose. How can...either one of them or both of them...?” Kylo trailed off. He couldn’t bear to finish the question.    
  
“Teach them to see past all that.” Maz Kanata, a teapot, hopped over towards him. “Show them the better part of you.” A beat. “Remember what your mother said. There is still light in you. Show them.”   
  
Kylo didn’t know if it was possible. If there was light in him, it had died a long time ago. And yet...   
  
Rose spoke up. “Just...apologize for what you did to Kes Dameron. To begin with.”   
  
”He tried to steal — ”   
  
”Still,” Rose said, “I refuse to believe that you don’t at least have some compassion in you.”   
  
”It died a long time ago.”   
  
"Not as much as you think.” A beat. "It’ll be another good start, at least.”   
  
Perhaps. Kylo could only hope. For all their sakes.


End file.
